HOUSTON (July 30, 2020) — The Houston Symphony continues its Live from Jones Hall concert series, an hour-long, livestreamed concert at 8 p.m. CST each Saturday night, with four new programs for the month of August. The August lineup welcomes guest conductors back to Jones Hall to lead the orchestra in diverse and engaging programs. Tickets are now on sale at houstonsymphony.org/livefromjoneshall. Each livestream performance is available via private link to ticket holders.
On Aug. 8, guest conductor Nicholas McGegan, who conducted the orchestra back in December in Handel’s Messiah, joins the Symphony in a program featuring Mozart’s beloved Eine Kleine Nachtmusik as well as Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, spotlighting four members of the Symphony’s violin section. The evening’s program includes “Summerland” from Three Visions by composer William Grant Still. The following Saturday, Aug. 15, the Symphony continues the series in a program that includes George Walker’s Lyric for Strings, conducted by Conducting Fellow Yue Bao, and Mozart’s Oboe Quartet in F major.
Principal Double Bass Robin Kesselman takes center stage on Aug. 22 in Dark with Excessive Bright Concerto for Double Bass by Missy Mazzoli, the trailblazing American composer. The evening’s program opens with Mozart’s opera arias Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro transcribed for an ensemble of winds. Giancarlo Guerrero, Music Director of the Nashville Symphony, joins the orchestra on Aug. 29 in a concert that showcases the orchestra’s virtuosity. First on the program is “The Fiddler’s March” from The Fiddler’s Tale, a piece by American composer and trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, followed by Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale Suite. Guerrero wraps up the program with Schubert’s effervescent Symphony No. 2.
Each week’s performance is now on sale for $10 online at houstonsymphony.org/livefromjoneshall. Ticket holders receive a private link to enjoy the live performance in the comfort of their homes. The Symphony encourages fans to consider purchasing multiple tickets to share as gifts for concert-goers to remotely enjoy with family and friends. Live from Jones Hall is made possible in part to support provided by Barbara J. Burger, and Robin Angly and Miles Smith.
Houston Symphony Live from Jones Hall
VIVALDI’S FOUR SEASONS
Saturday, August 8
Nicholas McGegan, conductor
Mozart: Serenade in G major, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
W.G. Still: “Summerland” from Three Visions
Matthew Roitstein, flute
Eric Halen, violin
Wei Jiang, viola
Charles Seo, cello
Megan Conley, harp
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Boson Mo, violin (Spring)
Christopher Neal, violin (Summer)
Amy Semes, violin (Autumn)
MuChen Hsieh, violin (Winter)
MOZART & WALKER
Saturday, August 15
Handel/L. Shaw: “Blessing And Honour” From Messiah, For Four Horns
Mozart: Ave Verum Corpus, For Four Horns
L. Shaw: Frippery No. 17, For Four Horns
William Vermeulen, horn
Brian Thomas, horn
Nancy Goodearl, horn
Ian Mayton, horn
Delibes/Brandis: “Sous Le Dôme Épais” (“Flower Duet”) From Lakmé, For Two Cellos
Wieniawski/Smith-Leonovich: Etudes-Caprices For Two Violins, Arranged For Two Cellos: No. 1, No. 4
Glière: Ten Duos For Two Cellos, No. 7
Paganini/Thomas-Mifune: Mosé-Fantasia For Two Cellos
Charles Seo, cello
Brinton Averil Smith, cello
Walker: Lyric for Strings
Yue Bao, conductor
Mozart: Oboe Quartet in F major
Jonathan Fischer, oboe
Sophia Silivos, violin
Joan DerHovsepian, viola
Christopher French, cello
MOZART & MAZZOLI
Saturday, August 22
Kensho Watanabe, conductor
Mozart/J.N. Wendt: Selections from Suite for Winds from Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)
7. Voi che sapete che cosa è amor
6. Porgi amor
5. Non più andrai farfallone amoroso
Jonathan Fischer, oboe
Colin Gatwood, oboe
Thomas LeGrand, clarinet
Alexander Potiomkin, clarinet
Isaac Schultz, bassoon
Elise Wagner, bassoon
Nancy Goodearl, horn
Ian Mayton, horn
M. Mazzoli: Dark with Excessive Bright
Robin Kesselman, double bass
Mozart: Symphony No. 38 in D major, Prague
SCHUBERT, STRAVINSKY & MARSALIS
Saturday, August 29
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
W. Marsalis: “The Fiddler’s March” from The Fiddler’s Tale Suite
Mark Nuccio, clarinet
Rian Craypo, bassoon
John Parker, trumpet
Allen Barnhill, trombone
Eric Halen, violin
Timothy Dilenschneider, bass
Brian Del Signore, percussion
Stravinsky: The Soldier’s Tale Suite
Mark Nuccio, clarinet
Rian Craypo, bassoon
John Parker, trumpet
Allen Barnhill, trombone
Eric Halen, violin
Timothy Dilenschneider, bass
Brian Del Signore, percussion
Schubert: Symphony No. 2 in B-flat major
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About the Houston Symphony
During the 2019–20 season, the Houston Symphony celebrates its sixth season with Music Director Andrés Orozco-Estrada and continues its second century as one of America’s leading orchestras with a full complement of concert, community, education, touring, and recording activities. The Houston Symphony, one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas, held its inaugural performance at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston June 21, 1913. Today, with an annual operating budget of $35.2 million, the full-time ensemble of 88 professional musicians presents nearly 170 concerts annually, making it the largest performing arts organization in Houston. Additionally, musicians of the orchestra and the Symphony’s four Community-Embedded Musicians offer over 1,000 community-based performances each year at various schools, community centers, hospitals, and churches reaching more than 200,000 people in Greater Houston annually.
The Grammy Award-winning Houston Symphony has recorded under various prestigious labels, including Koch International Classics, Naxos, RCA Red Seal, Telarc, Virgin Classics, and, most recently, Dutch recording label Pentatone. In 2017, the Houston Symphony was awarded an ECHO Klassik award for the live recording of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck under the direction of former Music Director Hans Graf. The orchestra earned its first Grammy nomination and Grammy Award at the 60th annual ceremony for the same recording in the Best Opera Recording category.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Eric Skelly: 713.337.8560, eric.skelly@houstonsymphony.org
Mireya Reyna: 713.337.8557, mireya.reyna@houstonsymphony.org
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